LIVID Leigh Griffiths last night claimed ref Craig Thomson wrecked the Scottish Cup Final by trying to steal the show with a string of controversial calls.

And the hurting Hibs striker aimed a furious volley at Hearts star Suso Santana for diving to win the penalty he believes killed his side’s hopes of ending a 110-year wait to get their hands on the famous silverware.

But in a hard-hitting and honest assessment of his side’s hapless Hampden display, Griffiths admitted the Leith men’s heartless performance was “absolutely disgusting” as they crashed 5-1 to their bitter rivals.

After going 2-0 behind, skipper James McPake pulled a goal back to give Hibs hope but any chance of a comeback was killed after Suso went down under a Pa Kujabi challenge that resulted in a penalty and a red card for the Gambian.

TV pictures later showed the challenge was outside the box and Griffiths was left raging with Thomson who later sent Hibs boss Pat Fenlon to the stand for gesturing to the Hearts fans.

The on-loan Wolves man also claimed Ian Black should have seen red for a late challenge on him early on AND says Hibs were denied a stonewall penalty for Danny Grainger’s first-half challenge on Garry O’Connor.

Seething Griffiths said: “It was all about the ref. He wanted to steal the show a bit and he did that with the penalty and sending the gaffer to the stand. It spoiled the game.

“The penalty in the second half was a turning point because when we got the goal just before half-time I felt we had a bit of momentum.

“We came out for the second half and the ref awarded a stupid penalty.

“James asked the TV guys to see a replay of the incident and they said it was never in the box.

“As soon as they scored the penalty the boys’ heads went down a bit and after that they scored again and again.

“Suso dived in the first half then I booted the ball against his hand not long after he won the penalty – and he went down holding his face! That sums him up.

“We’d been warned about that during the week and we knew from playing against him before what he’s like. On top of that, we should have had a stonewall penalty.

“From where I was it was a stonewaller and I know Garry thinks the same. He’s in the dressing-room absolutely fuming.

“He said he was denied two penalties, I can’t think what the second one was but from where I was Grainger definitely got a hold of his shirt and it’s a penalty all day long.

“The gaffer said Blackie should have been sent off for his challenge on me right at the start of the game. It’s one of those things, you go up for the ball and he comes through the back of you.

“It’s done with now, there’s not much we can do about it. Blackie ran the show and he’s going to do well in England if he goes down there.”

But diehard Hibee Griffiths didn’t miss his own team-mates either after a gutless display that saw them slaughtered by boss Fenlon.

Griffiths said: “To get beat in a cup final is pretty low but to get beat 5-1 off your nearest rivals is absolutely disgusting.

“It makes it worse for me being a Hibs fan. To lose any cup final is sad but to lose against Hearts is even worse. However, congratulations to Hearts. They were the better team by far and deserved to win the cup.”

Griffiths admitted he doesn’t know what the future holds and said: “I’ll go back down the road to Wolves now for pre-season then we’ll see what happens after that.”